Romping and Running and Commissioning Chores

I recently started an allowance system with our 6yo and 4yo. Rather than just giving them $1 every week just for the sake of giving them a dollar, I decided to tie it to chores, making the allowance more like a commission. (I got this idea listening to Dave Ramsey, by the way, which you can do online if a radio station is not in your area. You can also watch him on hulu.com -- see my right sidebar.)

For a couple of weeks now, I have assigned Olivia and Peter some simple jobs to do on the weekend. I supervise them throughout the whole job until it is completed, and once they are finished I give them a high-five and immediately hand them their dollar.

The first week, I basically just had them pick up their rooms. I wanted them to grasp the concept. The next week, I had them pick up their rooms as well as several areas in the house where they romped and ran. (You know, like "dine and dash"? They play and then flee without cleaning up...? Oh, never mind.)

Here's a glimpse of Peter's room BEFORE...
Here you see it AFTER...
He's so proud of himself.
Olivia's room wasn't that bad this week, so I didn't take a before photo. Surprise, surprise, she really wanted me to take an AFTER photo. "Aren't you going to take a picture of MY room, mom?"
Um, what's with the bear, Olivia?

"We're dancing."

Of course you are.

The dining room had looked like this for a few days. (We don't actually eat in this room.) (Hello, white carpet? WHO thinks white carpet in a dining room is a good idea, I'd like to know.)

DINING ROOM BEFORE
Peter enjoyed putting the colored pencils away...
...Olivia had to be repeatedly reminded to stop using the pencils.

DINING ROOM AFTER

Yes, I realize the pictures are all kinds of crooked. Focus, people.


THE BASEMENT BEFORECan we say trashed?

BASEMENT AFTER

Another proud helper.

We even sorted the videos and DVDs. A daunting task, to be sure. We called it a "matching game". Peter petered out (ba-duh-bum) well before we were finished.

But we had been going at everything for almost two hours. So I could hardly blame him. All things considered, he held up quite well. I even had them "dust" their rooms at the very end: I gave them damp rags and a quick demonstration. It's the effort that counts here, people.

By the time we finished everything Peter had actually forgotten all about the dollar. When I gave it to him he was so excited.

I don't know if we will do this much every weekend. The main goal right now is for them to associate getting paid for doing a job. We talked about how it might be easier (and good Lord faster) next time? I was surprised that they knew the answer.

"We could pick up our messes as we go?"

Reminded me how often we underestimate our children, and methinks perhaps don't expect as much of them as we should? Hmmm....


A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place

We do have a place for everything so that everything can be in its place. But my children, like all children, prefer the let it lie approach. As I was observing them putting things away, I noticed a few things that weren't working, and I included Olivia and Peter in the process of coming up with a new system. The obvious intent being the hope that they will take pride in and ownership of the system and therefore actually use it.

I also have hope that they will recognize how much easier it is to earn their weekly allowance if they clean up throughout the week. We talked about that, too, and they seemed to get it -- already, I am seeing improvement when I tell Olivia to clean up her craft table. And Peter initiated putting away his puzzle when we were done with it...

For now, I will supervise them during the weekly process. I'm hoping my guidance will help them to learn to focus on the job at hand without getting distracted, eventually with no help at all. At least within reason.

I'm also hoping that this day of independence comes soon. Their older brother is a pretty tidy person, all things considered, so I have hope.

I do understand that it's important to teach your children about giving and saving. Baby Steps, is all I'm going to say. For now their allowance is such a small amount, and the idea is to just get into the routine. I think if I had to be organized enough to divvy it out in quarters and dimes as well, it would be enough to put me over the edge.